Cheap Nobody's Perfect (Book) (Donald E. Westlake, Richard Stark) Price

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Customer Reviews of Nobody's Perfect

As the book opens, Dortmunder is about to begin a defense against being caught red-handed with a stack of television sets he is stealing. As a twice-convicted felon, that's bad news. Suddenly, in walks one of the great criminal defense attorneys, J. Radcliffe Stonewiler, Esq., and in an hour-and-a-half Dortmunder is a free man. What's going on? That's what Dortmunder wonders, too, and he soon finds out that he has an obligation to fulfill to Arnold Chauncey, a society collector who likes to fill in the gaps in his income with payments from his insurance company for art that has "disappeared."

Although he's not excited about the caper, Dortmunder figures it will be pretty easy and the payoff is a large one. Then, while lifting a $400,000 painting, he decides to take just one or two other items . . . and everything begins to unravel.

This story brings Dortmunder into the full realization that the bad luck that dogs him has more to do with him than with Andy Kelp, who he has been blaming for the problems that arose in Bank Shot, The Hot Rock and Jimmy the Kid. It also marks the introduction of that large and easily angered tough guy, Tiny Bulcher, who is a fixture of many of the best books in the series. The Continental Detective Agency also makes another appearance, having been reassigned after losing the bank in Bank Shot.

One of the charms of this story is that Arnold Chauncey is one of the most larcenous rich people you will ever meet, aided by an indifference to the needs of others and a diabolical mind for finding ways to get what he wants.

Donald E. Westlake sets up one of the funniest complications for having a heist go sour that you will ever read as the gang splits up and runs into unexpected challenges when a wee bit of the dew is upset.

The story is filled with lengthy gags involving various aids that the criminals are using. You'll imagine yourself watching a very funny video as you read some of the sequences.

After you finish enjoying this fine tale, think about where wanting just a little more has caused problems in your life. Where can more moderation serve you better in the future?

Nobody's Perfect Except Westlake
Another laffer from the Sultan of Slapstick Crime. This time Dortmunder and the gang steal a priceless painting so the owner can collect the insurance only to have everything go wrong. No guards in the area-guess what. Nobody at the house will be using the elevator-guess what. And to top it off Dortmunder loses the painting and must make good before a hitman finds him. I expected to find that the owner had the painting all the time and was using the loss as an excuse not to pay Dormunder, but as usual, you can't outhink the master. The painting is lost and Dortmunder's attempt to cover it up is hilarious and brilliant. The final heist of the painting has Dortmunder and Kelp working with the owner and the hitman to recover it from Merrie Olde England. Great fun.

D. Westlake is a writing machine.
I mean that in a good way, of course. His hero Dortmunder is at it again, stealing a painting FOR the mark (to collect insurance, of course, naughty boy). What's intersting is to read as things go horribly, side-splittingly wrong for Dortmunder and crew. D. Westlake is one of the few authors who can have me laughing out loud, not just from his character descriptions, but writing out the action. One of my favorite lines of his is in this book. Kelp is driving Dortmunder around in a "borrowed" doctor's car (his favorite kind - doctors know how to pamper themselves). He has to hit the brakes suddenly. How would D. Westlake describe this? Easy. "The car stopped on a dime and gave him change." Eat your heart out Raymond Chandler.